Buccaneers take time to settle before Bears jet in

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are making their second trip to London in three years. The last time they came, in 2009, they lost 35-7 to the New England Patriots, so the team have changed strategy this year, arriving on Monday night, four days earlier than last time, to offset the jet lag.

Tampa Bay running back Ernest Graham said: “I feel great, the jet-lag issue is out of the way.” Graham, who will start in place of the injured LeGarrette Blount, said of his acclimatised team: “It’s a huge difference to two years ago.”

The Bears, ignoring the possibility of jet lag, chose to prepare in Chicago before flying into London yesterday.

Traditionally, the team that has spent the longer time in London has fared better at Wembley, although Bears quarterback Jay Cutler doesn’t believe that tradition will be repeated.

“We’re in the same boat,” Cutler said. “Both teams have to travel a long distance and get ready to play a game in an atmosphere that’s going to be a little bit difference for both of us. Whoever prepares the best and executes is going to win this one.”

NFL UK managing director Alistair Kirkwood has insisted the success of the sport continues to grow in this country even as he prepares for a Wembley game that has not sold out for the first time.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers take on the Chicago Bears in London tomorrow, the fifth straight year Wembley has hosted a game. But where the previous four were played to capacity crowds, Kirkwood said he expects attendance to be in the “mid-70,000 range” this weekend.

The fixture was only confirmed in August due to the labour dispute that at one stage put the NFL season into doubt during the summer, and that has hugely affected the usual ticket sales process. “Normally we’ve been announcing games in December or January, and then taking advantage of the Super Bowl interest, when our sports is at its most relevant and popular in UK fans’ minds,” said Kirkwood. “This year, with us not being able to confirm the game until August, and given that 85 per cent of our fans travel from outside London, we’ve not been able to give them as much notice.”

However, Kirkwood will look beyond the empty seats on Sunday to see other signs of growth in the UK. The Wembley games have been credited with fuelling a huge rise in television ratings for NFL games in this country, and that pattern has continued.

“Five weeks into the season, we’ve seen our TV ratings up more than 20 per cent year-on-year,” said Kirkwood.